<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>gotta work for it by Deniera</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25708150">gotta work for it</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deniera/pseuds/Deniera'>Deniera</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FFXV Prompts [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Caring Gladiolus Amicitia, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Insecurity, M/M, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, pre-game</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:21:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,060</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25708150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deniera/pseuds/Deniera</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>[I'm uploading old prompts I filled in late 2017 on Tumblr, so if this seems familiar, you might have seen it there back then. I haven't written since that time and I sort of want to close the door behind me before I begin something new.]</p><p>Gladio's pretty shit at dealing with sad people. So when Noctis insists he go and meet up with Prompto, the last thing he expects is to find Prompto quiet, withdrawn and upset. They don't know each other well, but Gladio's gonna do his best to cheer Noct's friend up anyways.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gladiolus Amicitia &amp; Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FFXV Prompts [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863619</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>gotta work for it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: Could I please request some fluff with Prompto and a chocobro of your choice? Prompto got some bad news and he's a little upset and they decide to spoil him to cheer him up?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Gladio entered the arcade, he immediately knew something was off.</p><p>Noctis had urged him to go alone to meet Prompto when he and Ignis had gotten a last-minute notice that they had to attend a formal meeting. In theory, Gladio was skipping on his duty right now, but it was Saturday and Noctis was surrounded by the Crownsguard in the Citadel, never mind that Ignis was with him, so it was sort of okay for him to not be there.</p><p>He didn’t know, really, why he had been pushed so urgently to go and see Prompto. It wasn’t the first time Noctis had to postpone seeing his best friend, so the fuss seemed to be a little over the top.</p><p>At least that was what he thought before he arrived.</p><p>Prompto was waiting close to where he and Noctis would usually hang out, next to some Justice Monster machines, leaning against a wall. His whole form told Gladio that something must have happened. He was completely closed off, didn’t look around, his shoulders slumped and, what made it most obvious, he wasn’t moving a single limb. Usually, whenever Gladio saw him, he was smiling and constantly moving, or he was busy with his phone.</p><p>None of that today.</p><p>Gladio inhaled, bracing himself.</p><p>Prompto looked up when he came close, a flicker of something hushing over his face, too fast for Gladio to make sense of, and then he gave him a tired smile.</p><p>“Hey, big guy,” he said with a small, quiet voice, which was a little spooky as well. Gladio only knew him loud. “Noct’s busy, huh.”</p><p>He grunted and gave Prompto an amicable clap on the shoulder. “Yeah. Doesn’t mean I can’t go out.”</p><p>“No 24-hour surveillance?”</p><p>“At least not from me. There’re more people than me an’ Iggy working for the Crown to babysit the prince, y’know?” He had intended for that to be teasing, but Prompto kept looking down, quiet again. No good idea then.</p><p>Gladio cursed silently. He wasn’t good with this kind of stuff. It had taken a long time for him to figure out how to comfort Iris, and she was his baby sister. Usually he knew why she was upset.</p><p>This, however, was Prompto, someone he was just getting to know. He had no idea how to handle him, or how to handle the situation. Why was he upset? Did he want to talk? Would he prefer to be alone? Did he need some distraction?</p><p>“Noct sent you, didn’t he?”</p><p>Prompto still hadn’t turned over to him, and he still sounded tired.</p><p>“Uh.“</p><p>“You don’t have to waste your time with me, big guy. It’s okay, go and do something you actually wanna do.” With that, Prompto pushed off the wall and started walking away from him.</p><p>Gladio looked after him, dumfounded. Where the hell did that come from?</p><p>“Hey, Prompto,” he said, hurrying after him. “C’mon, I’m not wasting my time with you!” He caught up with him and grabbed one of Prompto’s arms, stopping him. There wasn’t much resistance, Prompto simply stopped dead in his tracks.</p><p>They stood there in awkward silence, Gladio still unsure what to do with him. At least until he heard a stomach growling and Prompto jerked, one hand covering his middle and, finally, he got some color in his face, like he was embarrassed about it.</p><p>This was something Gladio could deal with.</p><p>“C’mon,” he gently pulled the smaller boy with him, “let’s get something to eat.”</p><p>Behind him, Prompto gasped. “I- Gladio, no-“</p><p>“What? I didn’t have lunch ‘cause Noct ordered me around. Did you have lunch?” Probably not, judging by the sounds of his stomach.</p><p>“I... it’s okay, I’ll eat something at home later.”</p><p>“You don’t wanna eat with me?”</p><p>He turned around while walking, watching as Prompto chewed on his lip, indecision clear on his face.</p><p>“I-“ He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, stopping so abruptly that Gladio jerked him forward with his momentum. Gladio stopped as well and pulled his hand back, an apology on his tongue.</p><p>“I don’t have money.” Prompto had jammed his hands into his pockets and avoided looking at him, still.</p><p>Gladio didn’t know what to say. Did he forget his wallet? Or did he mean he was completely out of cash?</p><p>“I... I can’t afford to go eating. I can barely afford a few games at the arcade.”</p><p>“Then why meeting up here?”</p><p>Prompto bit his lip again. “I...” He sighed. “I thought I’d have a job soon.”</p><p>Gladio waited for more, but nothing came. “You thought,” he said. “Didn’t work out?”</p><p>Prompto slumped and shook his head. “I had an interview this morning. I’m not what they’re looking for, or something like that.”</p><p>Gladio crossed his arms over his chest. It was uncomfortable, to be reminded so bluntly that Prompto was at times simply from another world than the rest of them. Gladio had grown up knowing what he would do his whole life, and any jobs he had had as a teen while going to school had just fallen into his lap. No one had said no to the future shield, and it wasn’t like he had taken those jobs for the money. He had enough of that, just like Noctis and Ignis. ‘Building character and social skills,’ his father had called it.</p><p>“I was gonna invite you anyway,” he said finally. It was true, but still, it felt like an inadequate statement. It wouldn’t solve Prompto’s problems.</p><p>“You don’t have to,” Prompto said, and now he sounded bitter. “I don’t want to be your charity case, too. Noct does it all the time already and it’s driving me insane.”</p><p>Gladio glared at him through furrowed brows. “You’re not my <em>charity case</em>,” he growled. “I’m fucking hungry and I’m not gonna make you sit there and watch me eat. I’m inviting you ‘cause you’re a friend and everything else would be rude. So you comin’ or not?” He turned around with a last look and then started to walk.</p><p>After a moment he heard Prompto stumble after him.</p><p>Good.</p><p>Kid didn’t need to know Gladio had already eaten.</p><p> </p><p>Despite not being hungry at all, Gladio ordered a big portion of decidedly unhealthy food, not accepting Prompto’s weak <em>No</em> when he ordered the same size for him. Kid was hungry and Gladio didn’t see the appeal of being wealthy when he couldn’t share it with a friend with an empty stomach.</p><p>Prompto was still slumping, but it seemed like he had accepted his fate. He was staring at Gladio on and off with a pout, absent-mindedly gazing out of the window the other half of the time.</p><p>“So,” Gladio said after they had gotten their drinks – a soda for his sweet tooth, and some sort of juice for Prompto, “What about this job now, huh? What did you apply for?”</p><p>Prompto leaned back in his seat, sighing. “Photography shop,” he mumbled. Gladio almost didn’t hear him.</p><p>“What, selling and stuff, or...?”</p><p>Prompto nodded.</p><p>“And what exactly are you lacking to sell their junk?” He cringed as soon as he said it. That didn’t come out right.</p><p>“Everything, probably,” Prompto said gloomily and sighed again, head falling back onto his seat. “Sorry, that’s... it just sucks. I really wanted that job, they had so many different types of cameras, they had a vintage section with lots of manual ones with actual film and I could have learned how to develop, maybe.”</p><p>He huffed and then slouched deeper in his seat.</p><p>Gladio thought about what he could say to that. He knew the kid liked to take pictures of all and everything with his old, cheap digital camera. He hadn’t known he was into it that much.</p><p>“So what,” he tried, “can’t you go to another place? Give it a second shot?”</p><p>Prompto finally looked at him and then shrugged. “Maybe,” he said, “but... why would they take me? The ones I spoke to today were pretty clear that I hadn’t anything to offer.” He sighed again, and returned to examining the table, playing with a scratch in the surface with his finger.</p><p>Gladio rubbed his neck. “What if Noct-“</p><p>“Do<em> not</em> suggest that he puts in a word for me,” Prompto sharply interrupted him with a glare.</p><p>“I- why not? ‘s not like he’s doing the work <em>for</em> you.”</p><p>“But he totally is! I wanna get shit done by myself! What’s any accomplishment worth if I didn’t do it without help?”</p><p>Gladio huffed. “That’s dumb.”</p><p>Prompto glared at him. “What?”</p><p>“Imagine no one woulda helped me with my training. You think I’d be prepared for my job if I had to learn it all by myself?”</p><p>Prompto reddened and looked out the window, his jaw clenched. “That’s not the same and you know it.”</p><p>Gladio sighed. “What’s your real issue?”</p><p>Prompto swallowed and kept avoiding him.</p><p>For a few minutes, Gladio waited patiently. Then he groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Come on, kid, I’m shit at this, help me out. What’s your issue?”</p><p>Prompto snorted. He licked his lips, looked from the window to the top of the table, glanced at Gladio, then back to the table again. “I’m just... why didn’t they want me?” His voice was small, and Gladio felt the need to pull him into a hug. “I mean... I know my stuff. About photography and... I wanted to learn. It looked so good and... I dunno. Why didn’t they want me?”</p><p>He looked up, his expression so open and hurt that Gladio reached out without thinking to cover Prompto’s hands clenching around the table with his own. Prompto looked a surprised as he felt by his gesture.</p><p>The size difference of their hands looked almost comical, and in another situation he would have probably teased Prompto about it. Now was not the time, though.</p><p>“Fuck ‘em,” he said.</p><p>Prompto huffed out a weak laugh. “Easy for you to say.”</p><p>“If they didn’t appreciate your eagerness, yeah. Easy to say.”</p><p>“That won’t help me with my next interview,” Prompto said.</p><p>“Maybe...” Gladio licked his lips, and thought again. “Hey, were you nervous?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“In the interview. Were you nervous?”</p><p>Prompto looked at him with the most unimpressed expression. “Of course I was. I really wanted that job, and I was looking forward to having dinner in the foreseeable time, too.”</p><p>“That bad, huh?”</p><p>Prompto blushed, clearly uncomfortable. He probably hadn’t intended to say that.</p><p>“So, you were nervous.”</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>“Maybe that’s all there is? Maybe they thought, if he’s nervous just speaking to us, he ain’t any good talking to customers.”</p><p>“Huh,” Prompto said, “you think so?”</p><p>Gladio shrugged. “How about practicing with Iggy?”</p><p>“What.” Prompto blinked at him. “What do you mean, practice?”</p><p>“Like,” Gladio said. “Like, sit down with him, pretend he interviews you.”</p><p>Prompto shot him a look. Not impressed with the idea, apparently.</p><p>“Hey, that guy’s roasting Noct on a regular basis. If you get out of one of his grillings without losing face, you’re prepared to talk to anyone.”</p><p>That actually got him a surprised laugh. Prompto’s hands were still warm and fidgety under Gladio’s and he gave them a squeeze that he hoped was supportive.</p><p>“Just, consider it, yeah. Ain’t no shame in getting some help.”</p><p>Prompto was chewing on his lip for a bit and then nodded slowly. “I’ll think about it, okay?”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>Gladio thought. Ignis was just as fond of the kid as he was, and he knew with his job the royal advisor had probably an awful lot of ideas about how he could potentially help Prompto. And if not, he definitely had lots of resources to get information on what to improve.  </p><p>Prompto would be in good hands.</p><p>With a start Gladio pulled his hands back when two huge plates were suddenly placed in front of them. Right, the food. He had forgotten about that.</p><p>His stomach lurched upon seeing the actual size of what he had ordered and yeah, maybe he had overdone it a little bit. Then again, Prompto had been hungry and he had just admitted that dinner was apparently not something he had that regularly, so maybe he could take the leftovers of their food home. No need to waste anything.</p><p>When he looked over, Prompto was watching him with a smile.</p><p>“Thanks, big guy.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>